1985 720 Owner looking for advice to restore it

[Xiao_Hu]

How's it going fellas? 

 

I purchased a 1985 720 ST from YouTuber triptheroad because he was gonna scrap it. It has a perfect frame as far as I can see for being in a thicket for 2 years, the bed is savable and the drivetrain works. The bad?

 

Cab wheel arches are gone

Floor is rusted out badly

Mice spent time in the cab

Rear cab mounts will need some reinforcement likely

No interior other than dash, wheel, ignition and basic wiring. I have seats and other parts for it.

 

I have a couple of questions here for people and I'm hoping to get some advice:

 

1. Is the rib spacing on the D21 the same as the 720 on the bed? There are a couple of patches that will need to be made and I'm curious if I could go to a junkyard with an angle grinder and cut a patch from a D21 bed? 

 

2. Anyone have a source for any patch panels other than the rockers? I found a couple companies doing rockers, and one company that offers floor pans outta Thailand, but nobody stateside. Last time I purchased something from Thailand it stayed in customs for 2 months. Because it is a floor pan and not super structural im okay with just panel bonding in sheet metal but I want to know what my options are. Failing this, has anyone used a D21 patch panel? I realize the cabs are different but thought I'd ask. 

 

3. Does anyone know where the stock seat belt anchor was on a regular cab? I need precise measurements because what I'm going to do is cut the area around it out, weld it in, then drill a hole and weld a grade 10 nut into the floor pan to act as a replacement anchor. I realize this is not going to be the best repair but this is what I can come up with to save this truck. 

 

I'm not looking for a show truck out of it, at least not anytime soon. My goal is just to patch it together for a couple years until after my 280z project is done, then when I have the money I will pull the cab and take the entire cab to a body shop and have them return it to as close to factory spec as possible. With that in mind I'm also not planning on painting the entire vehicle because I kind of want to keep the red patina, I'm gonna touch up areas with paint and such as necessary but I don't really want to redo the truck until I'm ready to dump 3-5k on a full cleanup of the floor. 

[NC85ST]

Sounds like a good parts truck. You’re in Virginia, you should be able to find a more solid 720. I’m in North Carolina and it’s not too hard to find solid 720’s.

[Xiao_Hu]

I'm not interested in abandoning the vehicle. People out here are overpricing it and I specifically want a St single cab two-wheel drive 1984 or later. There's more King cabs out here but rust on most of them is pretty freaking bad. I can't afford $4000 on a project vehicle right now when I have the 280Z to worry about. 

 

There are no better options in the area but I appreciate the suggestion. The bed is savable I've fixed worse than this a Toyota bed so I know it's 100% possible. The bed itself only has a couple of areas that are damaged, otherwise it's all exterior sheet metal that I can fabricate patches for. 

 

The biggest concern is the cab for me and I can fix the cab mounts no problem I just need to know if and where I can get floor pan patches or if a D21 set will at least get me by. 

[NC85ST]

Best bet would be a parts truck. I don’t know of anyone who makes floor panels for a 720, but that doesn’t mean that someone doesn’t make them. If it’s a small area, I’m sure you could get a D21 to work.

[Xiao_Hu]

It's not a "small area". Parts trucks are not an option because of my situation and trying to find a vehicle without floor pan damage is basically impossible. So I guess I'm stuck asking the Thai seller for sheet metal and patching all other areas myself. Fine. That's okay. I'm just mildly annoyed at the throwaway culture of cars. I mean, I got the thing running off a Jerry can in an afternoon, and the rest of it is fine (frame in particular is really good)

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Ii too loathe the throw away car culture, but that may work to your advantage, if you can find someone throwing away their 720. I do rust repair here in the shop and I know enough about how rust can migrate and hide that if I can get a good donor, I will do that every time. Rust repair is very time consuming and many times, you don't get all of it. Even if you have the body blasted to bare metal (blasting, not sanding or chemical paint stripper) the rust hides between panels, inside channels and will eventually appear over time.

 

I'm not trying to dissuade you, but encouraging you to at least find a cab that you can scab panels from instead of hand fabbing and patching them in. I'd much rather replace an entire floor instead of cutting out and welding in a bunch of small patches.

 

Another benefit of having the panels out is that you can clean between the panels. See the pics below of the racing Sprite I am building. With the floor out, I was able to blast inside the channels and paint them before re-installing the floor.

 

[NC85ST]

If you already have a single cab ST, I would seriously consider doing a road trip to South Carolina for a relatively rust free truck. Once you find a suitable truck, swap over the ST specific parts. You will save a lot of time that way. South Carolina is not that far from Virginia, even if you’re at the northern most part. 

[Xiao_Hu]

8 hours ago, NC85ST said:

If you already have a single cab ST, I would seriously consider doing a road trip to South Carolina for a relatively rust free truck. Once you find a suitable truck, swap over the ST specific parts. You will save a lot of time that way. South Carolina is not that far from Virginia, even if you’re at the northern most part. 

That's a multi-hour drive and too far to get a private company to transport it for an economical amount. Additionally you're not taking into account a 2 day trip to SC, hundreds in fuel for a rental truck, cost of the vehicle, cost of a trailer, and serious expenses involved in storing the vehicle as I cannot just park it on my land by law. 

 

All of that said and done, I respectfully ask you to stop telling me what to do. I'm getting a little bit irritated because you're kind of telling me over and over "it's not worth it" when it absolutely is. Stop it, please. It's unhelpful. 

 

9 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Ii too loathe the throw away car culture, but that may work to your advantage, if you can find someone throwing away their 720. I do rust repair here in the shop and I know enough about how rust can migrate and hide that if I can get a good donor, I will do that every time. Rust repair is very time consuming and many times, you don't get all of it. Even if you have the body blasted to bare metal (blasting, not sanding or chemical paint stripper) the rust hides between panels, inside channels and will eventually appear over time.

 

I'm not trying to dissuade you, but encouraging you to at least find a cab that you can scab panels from instead of hand fabbing and patching them in. I'd much rather replace an entire floor instead of cutting out and welding in a bunch of small patches.

 

Another benefit of having the panels out is that you can clean between the panels. See the pics below of the racing Sprite I am building. With the floor out, I was able to blast inside the channels and paint them before re-installing the floor.

 

 

Some of the information you provided is actually somewhat helpful. Unfortunately I just don't see getting patch panels from a cab or even a cab for swapping being economical or worth it. It's almost less expensive for me to buy a gantry crane and pull the entire cab off the truck, build some kind of "engine stand" but for a truck cab and do it that way than get a fourth vehicle that I absolutely don't have the money or space for. 

 

There's just no space for me to store additional vehicles without selling my 280Z. Or leaving it outside which is not an option legally. You see I live in a community that has eyesore laws. They can and will harass or steal your property legally if it causes "harm to the community value" so all my stuff needs to be somewhat presentable. Having a truck in pieces or cars on my lawn is thus illegal. 

 

I'm not super experienced in doing rust repairs but I'm determined to save the cab, either way. If I can't get the help here then I will find someone else to be able to help me. 

 

Again I'm not looking to do a 100% professional restoration. I'm going to simply weld in portions of the floor where strength matters and panel bond lap bonds in where it doesn't, cover it with seam sealer and drive it for a while. I'm looking to get it sealed, restore integrity etc. 

 

I can have a body shop do the work but it would be very expensive and not at all practical. I would rather try to learn to do it myself. 

 

Anyways if someone can give me the location of the seat belt anchor for the bottom (measure to at least three referenc points please!), that's the main thing. I'll simply ask a friend with a D21 for him to measure rib spacing I guess since trying to get this is apparently impossible online.

 

The Thai floor pans only cover the front part of the floors. I think what I'm going to do is simply just use sheet metal. Not my preferred way to do this, but I'm not getting any helpful information from anybody. 

 

Respectfully to those who have responded, I would suggest when someone has a specific question/request you don't start suggesting to them, over and over, to do something completely different ad nauseaum. I understand you don't mean any harm by it, but it is annoying and frustrating. I know what I need to do. I also know on these vehicles that very little of them is structural outside of the frame itself. 

[IZRL]

There's no such thing as "economical" when it comes to project cars. I spent $3500+ on a truck that I thought was very close to road worthy. Body, electrical, engine, tranny were all in good condition and interior was complete.

 

Nobody is trying to discourage you. Just being realistic and giving you ideas to chew on.

Edited June 29 by IZRL

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

13 hours ago, Xiao_Hu said:

Some of the information you provided is actually somewhat helpful.

 

Respectfully to those who have responded, I would suggest when someone has a specific question/request you don't start suggesting to them, over and over, to do something completely different ad nauseaum. I understand you don't mean any harm by it, but it is annoying and frustrating. I know what I need to do. I also know on these vehicles that very little of them is structural outside of the frame itself. 

Thank you?

 

Look, you came here for help. We offer the best advice based on having been there in your shoes. You say you want to "restore" this truck? Sounds more like you just want to get it back on the road. Big difference.

 

Also, yes, the cab should be removed. There are a couple reasons for this, but the best reason is that you will never be able to get the body mounts welded in accurately without being able to measure, level, string line or laser the body mount locations. It is possible to remove the cab of a truck with a simple engine hoist, and some guys build wooden rotisseries to mount the cab on, so you don't have to spend big money to get the caboff and on some sort of a stand. Even if it's a roll around body cart that doesn't rotate, it will be worth it.

 

I still say a donor is the best way, even if you want a less than perfect result. I mean, how valuable is your time? You'll spend twice as many hours trying to do the repairs in a piecemeal manner. And the result won't be great.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

[datzenmike]

On 6/23/2024 at 9:04 PM, Xiao_Hu said:

I have a couple of questions here for people and I'm hoping to get some advice:

 

Advice asked and answered. Sometimes, (as in my case) I have more time than money and make do with what's on hand.

[Xiao_Hu]

1 hour ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Thank you?

 

Look, you came here for help. We offer the best advice based on having been there in your shoes. You say you want to "restore" this truck? Sounds more like you just want to get it back on the road. Big difference.

 

Also, yes, the cab should be removed. There are a couple reasons for this, but the best reason is that you will never be able to get the body mounts welded in accurately without being able to measure, level, string line or laser the body mount locations. It is possible to remove the cab of a truck with a simple engine hoist, and some guys build wooden rotisseries to mount the cab on, so you don't have to spend big money to get the caboff and on some sort of a stand. Even if it's a roll around body cart that doesn't rotate, it will be worth it.

 

I still say a donor is the best way, even if you want a less than perfect result. I mean, how valuable is your time? You'll spend twice as many hours trying to do the repairs in a piecemeal manner. And the result won't be great.

 

Okay that's what I wanted to hear I appreciate that you understand why I felt frustrated even if we disagree on the best use for this vehicle. 

 

In case you all aren't quite familiar with what I'm talking about here, I live in a small somewhat bougie town and I live right next to a major official on the council who already dislikes me because of the vehicles that I have in front of my garage that look hideous in his words. 

 

Because of this I really don't want to rock the boat further and give him ammunition to try to pass ordinances with the express attention to harm the efforts of enthusiasts to fix their vehicles without a multi vehicle garage. 

 

With all that said that's the main reason why I don't have a space for any more vehicles. If I try to put another vehicle on my concrete apron he's going to throw a fit both in person at me and in front of the local council. 

 

I looked at probably two dozen trucks in Virginia and North Carolina before I settled on this one. There were some that were in much better condition but the owner wanted three or four thousand for. I got this for 500. The floor of the bed is mostly intact. The frame is in really good shape and I know that from pulling the bed off to try and clean the fuel tank (didn't work). 

 

I really specifically wanted a two-wheel drive truck because I don't like the extra weight of four wheel drive. I specifically wanted an st. 

 

It's not a parts vehicle. There's too much here to just strip off what's valuable and throw it all away. The only thing that's suffered any major damage is the cab. Everything else is minor. The front of the cab mounts are intact and perfectly fine. The only bad one is the rear right one and assuming the rear left one passes muster I can probably just do that one in place but I honestly am going probably rent a Gantry crane and pull the cab so I can fix a couple of issues that are difficult to reach. 

 

Currently I'm mildly surprised that no one makes patch panels for these stateside because they do seem to be increasing in popularity. That being said I'm reasonably sure I can get it into safe to drive condition but it won't be a factory setup until after my 280z project is out of the way. That one needs way more work to be done. 

[720_Jeff]

Problem is with patch panels for Datsuns, is that too many Datsun owners are on a very low budget and that doesn't leave a lot of room for someone to produce this kind of thing with any kind of reasonable return.

So, not at all surprised.  Most will do what you will do, cut out the bad, weld in some sheet metal and be done with it.  Functional quality, not restoration quality.

 

KlassicFab makes parts for several models, but currently all they have for the 720 is a battery tray.

https://kfvintagejdm.com/shop/datsun-720/battery-tray-datsun-720-kfd720-01/

[Rustbin]

I can relate to the "I got this for 500" so free is the best price. I've made patch panels for my 510 from store shelving from the alley, bits from a A10 and a Pontiac minivan.  Any thing you do now "just to get by" can and probably will be redone when more of a restoration is an option. My Dad had a 720 but I can't remember the seat belt mounting location, maybe wait till you test fit your seats and put it where it works, it'll probably be very close. Any kind of service manual will be helpful as will a ball peen hammer and angle grinder. All the posted advise is good but maybe not applicable to your situation. Good luck with your truck and please keep us posted.

[Xiao_Hu]

Klassic I already spoke with unfortunately he doesn't have anything at the moment but yeah, after consulting with a couple of people I think we're just going to approximate as much as we can and use rivets, seam sealer and welding (all of these will be done correctly and cleanly, of course) and get the cab back in one piece. 

 

To give you guys a timeline/overview on my plans, my plans are: 

 

Get the cab functional enough. Replace the fuel system, get the engine and transmission running good, drive it for a little bit and see what it needs, redo the AC system, fabricate interior pieces that need to be replaced or find replacements, then fix the bed's damaged areas and line the interior of the bed with paintable bed liner, perform some modifications, and then after the 76 project is running driving and all one color I will spend the few grand on a professional to rehabilitate the cab if it needs further repairs. I'm not going to do it the crap way which would be to use spray foam, stop signs and Bondo to hold the thing together. In fact my plan with my friends is to eventually take all of our red Nissan pickups (3 D21s, my 720) to a local car meet and create a banner for the Red Datsun Truck Mafia. I know by this point none of them are branded Datsun but it sounds better. 

 

I will update you guys with photos as soon as I get all of the stupid freaking sound insulation out. I'm currently using a heat gun and expensive gasket scrapers to try and rip it out otherwise I'm going to have to probably get LN2 and use that. 

[bottomwatcher]

Look up the "Dry ice" method for removing the sound deadener.

[Xiao_Hu]

Already tried it. Did Jaques merde, unfortunately. You can only get blocks of dry ice around here and not the pellets. Spent nearly a hundred bucks on 10lbs of it and it proceeded to do absolutely nothing. Probably not helped by the fact that I live in a very hot and humid area so it almost immediately sweated forming an insulating ice layer. 

 

No amount of beating that with a hammer or chisel did anything. So I will be using heat and/or LN2